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Sutures May Be Better Than Staples

Saturday March 20, 2010

Many people wonder about their incision... How long will it be? Where will it be? Will there be a scar? But most patients don't think about how the incision will be closed until after the surgery. There are a few options.
The two most common options for wound closure are to use sutures or staples. There are other ways to close incisions (or leave them open, for that matter), but most are sutured or stapled. When asked why, most doctors talk about healing or scars, but what does the research show?
Well, for most orthopedic procedures, suturing is probably safer than stapling. A recent compilation of studies that have investigated this topic found that the chance of infection of the incision was higher when the wound was stapled. The chance of the wound opening up (dehiscence), becoming inflamed, or draining fluid was about the same, but the chance of infection was higher in stapled wounds.
What should you do? Well, start by asking your doctor. If he or she uses staples, you may want to point to this study (see below). Interestingly, this study found that the difference was most notable with hip surgery incisions, more so than with other incisions. Your doctor may recommend staples for a specific reason, so it is worthwhile to discuss before determining what option is best for you.